PREMISE:  During the NHL work stoppage, the NC$$ should seize the
opportunity to have College Hockey fill in the void for missing professional
games abandoned by the NHL.

This should improve the visiblity of college hockey at all levels, promote
the product as an alternative venue to consider for hockey fans at any time,
and, yes, make a little more money through added gate receipts, augmented TV
rights revenues and related marketing at game day.

If not coordinated by the NC$$ globally for the sport, then certain
conferences could cut their own deals.  If conferences are particularly
lame, then certain well-organized programs could cut their own individual
deals.

IDEAS (in no particular order, and sorry for the East examples only):

1.  Relocate any presently known near-sellout games from college rink to a
nearby "dark" NHL arena with opening on the same day.
2.  Add college games to regional or national sports networks with schedule
openings due to cancelled NHL games, especially weekend contests.  Revise
college game times if possible to meet the open TV dates.  (example:  NHL
regularly did an ABC Saturday afternoon game at 3 PM or so....times of an
existing college F-S series could be changed easily)
3.  If not able to show college games live, then tape-delay games and show
at times when an NHL broadcast would have been on (example:  NHL Boston
Bruins regularly play on Thursday nights at home, shown on regional cable on
NESN -- substitute a Hockey East tape delay from the previous week action)
4.  Take out ads in sports pages in major regional newspapers covering
college hockey clusters, listing the games being played in the area in the
upcoming days / weeks.  (example:  HEA could run an ad in the Boston Globe
each week)
5.  Proof of being an NHL season-ticket holder entitles bearer to discount
on ticket price or receipt of some item to be given when attending a collge
hockey game.
6.  College team alumni now playing in the NHL return to their school during
their lockout to be at a game for autograph / picture / giveaway session.

Whilst not a complete list, this is good for discussion....

Certainly there must be a few college AD's who are clever and creative
enough to pounce on this opportunity.